Late Tuesday, Carbon Copy Cloner, the shareware favorite for drive cloning operations by Mike Bombich, reached version 3.3.3. The new version, a 3.7 megabyte download, adds the following changes:

– Fixed a “divide by zero” error that would cause backup tasks involving very few files to fail at the end.

– Fixed a bug that would cause CCC and the scheduled task helper application to crash when certain filesystems were mounted.

– CCC now enables ownership on the target volume regardless of the ownership setting on the source volume. Previously, clones made of Macs in Target Disk Mode would have incorrect ownership information on system files if the target volume did not have ownership enabled.

– Fixed an issue in which a scheduled task would fail to run properly if the user logged out and then logged back in.

– Fixed an issue in which a scheduled task would log many errors if the user logged out while the scheduled task was in the middle of a backup.

– Fixed an issue in which CCC would not run a “Backup everything” scheduled task that used the “Delete items from the target that do not exist on the source” option.

– Fixed an issue in which a scheduled task that was configured to back up to a disk image would not run if it was set to run “When the target volume is reconnected”. These tasks now run properly when the underlying volume is reconnected to your Macintosh, whether it is a local volume or a mounted sharepoint.

– Fixed an issue in which CCC would report minor errors if a directory disappeared from the source volume in the middle of a backup task.

– Fixed an issue in which preferences from a very old version of CCC would cause errors while trying to select a source volume.

– Fixed a memory leak related to files with Access Control Entries.

– CCC no longer creates the target folder on a remote Macintosh. This enforces the behavior of aborting the backup task if the backup volume is not available, or is not mounted at the expected mountpoint on the remote Macintosh.

– The CCC.log file is now properly created when CCC is run under a non-admin user account.
Minor interface enhancements, specifically around the presentation and content of the “bootability” checks.

– Minor bug fixes around the creation of encrypted disk images.

– If you checked the box to display the scheduled task “task finished” panel only when errors occur, this panel will no longer re-present itself after the scheduled task is reloaded on startup. The setting will only be reset when changes are made to the scheduled task’s configuration in the Scheduled Tasks window.

– CCC now saves only modified scheduled tasks when clicking the Save button in the Scheduled Tasks window.

– Updated the list of items that CCC automatically ignores from a backup set. See the documentation for complete details about this list.

– Fixed an issue in which Intel systems would be permitted to run portions of CCC using Rosetta, leading to reduced performance and potentially crashing behavior.

Following reports of reception issues observed by new iPhone 4 owners (tagged the “Death Grip” across the Internet), additional insight reveals that this may actually be a software issue that could be cleared up in the near future.

In terms of identifying the problem, clear observations of mobile signal strength and how they are affected by the placement of users’ hands are difficult to perform in part because there are multiple factors involved in receiving a mobile radio link, including outside interference and the conductivity or mass of different people’s hands.

Additionally, cellphones in general (and in particular the iPhone) have always only presented a very rough approximation of signal strength in the signal bar display, averaged over time. It appears that iOS 4, more so than previous iPhone software, presents a less accurate signal meter, showing less signal at times than an iPhone 3GS while still being able to achieve the same or better call quality.

Per AppleInsider, this has led some to jump to the conclusion that the reception problems noted by some iPhone 4 users are the sign of a hardware design flaw related to its stainless steel band antenna design. Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs stoked a whiplash of blogger frenzy when he reportedly responded that users “were holding it the wrong way,” blocking the signal with their hands.

A variety of people have demonstrated identical problems with other phones, from the Android based Nexus One to the iPhone 3GS. However, the fact that problems observed in the iPhone 3GS are much more pronounced when the device is upgraded to iOS 4 indicate that there is also a software issue involved in the matter. iPhone 4 users can’t downgrade to earlier versions of the core software, making it impossible to compare its relative performance.

According to the article, several messages have arrived from Apple’s tech support forums confirmed that a iOS 4.0.1 software fix addressing the issue would ship early next week (as early as Monday).

The fix is expected to address a issue in iOS 4 related to radio frequency calibration of the baseband. Readers who saw the original forum discussions say that the issue is believed to occur when switching frequencies; because the lag is allegedly not calibrated correctly, it results in the device reporting “no service” rather than switching to the frequency with the best signal to noise ratio.

iOS 4 introduced some enhancements to how the baseband selects which frequencies to use, so it makes sense that the error may have crept into those changes. Additionally, this explains why iOS 4 has also caused similar problems for iPhone 3GS users.

The core software problem is likely augmented by hand placement, as Jobs noted in pointing out that holding the new phone (or any mobile device) in such a way that attenuates the signal should simply be avoided.

If you’ve seen the “Death Grip” issue on your end or have anything to add, let us know.

Late last week, Mozilla.org released version 3.6.4 of its Firefox web browser. The new version, an 18.6 megabyte download, sports the following major changes:

– Version 3.6.4 makes four critical security fixes. Unlike the Windows version, it does not introduce the Out-of-Process Plug-in sandboxing feature. That is expected for Mac users in Firefox 4.

Firefox 3.6.4 is available in more than 70 different languages and requires a G3, G4, G5 or Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.4 or later and 128MB of RAM to install and run. If you’ve snagged the new version and have any feedback to offer about it, let us know in the comments.

After months of anticipation, Apple released its Mac OS X 10.6.4 update for its Mac OS X 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) operating system on Tuesday.

The update, which ranges in size from a few to several hundred megabytes, includes the following fixes and changes:

General fixes and improvements:
– Improves compatibility with some Braille displays
– Resolves an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
– Resolves an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
addresses issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
– Improves reliability of VPN connections
– Resolves a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
– Resolves an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
– Resolves an issue with Parental Controls Time Limits for Open Directory or Active Directory users
– Resolves a display sleep issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers
– Resolves an issue with MacBook Pro (Early 2010) computers in which the right speaker may sound louder than the left speaker
– Includes Safari 5.0; for more information about Safari 5.0, see this webpage

Late Thursday, Adobe officially released Flash Player 10.1.53.64, the newest version of its multimedia software for Mac OS X. The new version, a 7.4 megabyte download, offers a slew of security fixes detailed here with full (and extensive) release note changes documented here.

The new version is available for free and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later to install and run.

Late Tuesday, Microsoft released version 11.5.9 of its Microsoft Office 2004 suite and version 12.2.5 of its Microsoft Office 2008 suite. The updates, which weigh in at 9.7 and 332 megabytes, respectively, focus on improving security for both suites, fixing vulnerabilities that could allow malicious code to overwrite portions of your Mac’s memory and run arbitrary commands.

The updates are free and available through the AutoUpdate programs and require Mac OS X 10.2 or later to run Office 2004 and Mac OS X 10.4 or later to run Office 2008.

If you’ve installed the updates and have any feedback to offer, let us know.

– Safari Developer Tools: A new Timeline Panel in the Web Inspector shows how Safari interacts with a website and identifies areas for optimization. New keyboard shortcuts make it faster to switch between panels.
– Smarter Address Field: The Smart Address Field can now match text against the titles of webpages in History and Bookmarks, as well as any part of their URL.
– Tabs Setting: Automatically open new webpages in tabs instead of in separate windows.

– Hardware Acceleration for Windows: Use the power of the computer’s graphics processor to smoothly display media and effects on PC as well as Mac.

– Search History with Date: A new date indicator in Full History Search shows when webpages were viewed.

– Top Sites/History Button: Switch easily between Top Sites and Full History Search with a new button that appears at the top of each view.

– Private Browsing Icon: A “Private” icon appears in the Smart Address Field when Private Browsing is on. Click on the icon to turn off Private Browsing.

– DNS Prefetching: Safari looks up the addresses of links on webpages and can load those pages faster.

– Improved Page Caching: Safari can add additional types of webpages to the cache so they load quickly.

VirtualBox, an open source x86 virtualization project available for free has just hit version 3.2.2. The new version, a 70.9 megabyte download, sports a list of fixes and changes that can be found here.

VirtualBox 3.2.2 is available for free and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later and an Intel-based Mac to install and run.